Die Again
by K.M.Kidwell
Summary: Katelyn Pierce is a Staff Sergeant with the US Air Force celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday. When tragedy strikes and she dies in a fatal accident, fate grants her a second chance. She is sent to a completely different world where the familiar military life is much different and the stakes are much higher. Can she learn to adapt to this new world and survive the chaos within?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of the characters therein. My only creation within this story are the characters not found within the original SNK manga or anime.

Author's Note: This story won't be getting into the SNK universe for about 3 or 4 chapters. You'll be getting acquainted with the protagonist female of the story until then. Keep in mind, I was really struggling with how to describe everything these first few chapters only because I'm not military, I don't really live anywhere near Scott AFB or Rhode Island. I'm acquainted with the military and the life of the military but a lot of this took some serious research. Anything is off about any of my convenient mentions, please forgive me in advance. That said, please enjoy the story.

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Arms filled with groceries, Katie struggled to pull her key from the lock and push the door shut behind her with her foot. Automatically, she glanced up at the clock in the foyer of her spacious apartment. It was already seven thirty? It had taken her an eternity to finish things at the Communication Center and then stop by the package store and the Commissary. After that, fighting the traffic from Scott Air Force Base had been like wading through waist-deep mud. To add to her already overwhelming frustration, she had decided to try a shortcut home and had ended up taking a wrong turn. Soon she was hopelessly lost. A kind soul at the Kwik Trip had given her directions, and she had felt compelled to explain to him that she was lost only because she had been stationed at Scott for just three months, and she hadn't had time to learn her way around yet.

The man had patted her shoulder like she was a puppy and asked, "What is a young little thing like you doing in the Air Force?" Katie had treated the question rhetorically, thanked him and driven away, face hot with embarrassment.

Understandably, her already harried nerves jumped at the insistent sound of her ringing phone.

"Hang on!" she yelled and rushed into the kitchen, plopping the bags unceremoniously onto the spotless counter and lunging for the phone.

"Hello," she panted into the dead sound of a dial tone that was broken only by the rhythmic bleat of her answering machine. "Well, at least they left a message."

Katie sighed and carried the phone with her back to the kitchen, punching in her message retrieval code. With one hand she held the phone to her ear, and with the other, she extracted twin bottles of champagne from one of the bags.

"You have two new messages," the mechanical voice proclaimed. "First message, sent five thirty-two P.M."

Katie listened attentively as she picked at the metallic casting that covered the wine-imprisoned champagne cork.

"Hello, Katelyn, it's your parents!"

Her mother's recorded voice, sounding a little unnatural and tinny, chirped through the phone.

"Hey there, Katelyn!" More distant, but similarly cheerful, Dad's voice echoed from an extension.

Katie smiled indulgently. Of course it was her parents- they were the only two people on this Earth who still insisted on calling her by her given name.

"Just wanted to say we didn't actually forget your big day."

Here her mom paused, and she could hear her dad chuckle. Forget her birthday? She hadn't thought they had- until then.

Her mom's breathy voice continued.

"We've just been running ourselves ragged getting ready for our next cruise! You know how long it takes your father to pack." This said in a conspiratorial whisper.

"But don't worry, honey, even though we didn't get your box shipped off, we did manage to fix up a little surprise for our favorite twenty-five year old."

"Twenty-five?" Her dad sounded genuinely surprised. "Well good Lord. When did that happen?"

"Time sure flies, honey," Mom said sagely.

"No kidding," Dad agreed, "I thought she was twenty-two. That's one reason I told you we should spend more time travelling- but only one reason." Dad chuckled suggestively.

"You were certainly right about that, dear." Mom kidded back breathlessly, suddenly sounding decades younger.

"They're flirting with each other on my birthday message," Katie sputtered. "And they really did forget my birthday!"

"Anyway, we're getting ready to leave for the airport-"

Dad's voice, even more distant, broke in. "Hellen! Say goodbye, the airport limo is here."

"Well, have to go, Birthday Girl! Oh, and you have a nice time on your little air force trip. Aren't you leaving in a couple days?"

Her little air force trip? Katie rolled her eyes. Her ninety-day deployment as noncommissioned officer in charge of Quality Control at the Communications Center at Riyadh Air Base in Saudi Arabia to support the war on terrorism was just a "little air force trip?"

"And, honey, don't give the pilot a hard time. We know you love flying, but my goodness, you did join the air force! You should have signed up to be a pilot!"

Katie rolled her eyes, wishing her mother hadn't mentioned that sore spot- flying- since she had tried to become a pilot, but based on her testing scores, she was encouraged to join a more intelligence-based occupation. It was something she always regretted.

"We love you! Bye now."

The message ended and Katie, still shaking her head, hit the Off button and put the phone on the counter.

"I can't believe you guys forgot my birthday! You've always said that it's impossible to forget my birthday because I was born just after midnight on Halloween." She berated the phone while she reached into the cabinet for a champagne flute. "You didn't even remember my box." She continued to glare at the phone as she wrestled with the champagne cork.

For the seven years Katie had been on active duty service In the United States Air Force, her parents had never forgotten her birthday box. Until now. Her twenty-fifth birthday- she had lived a quarter of a century. It really was a landmark year, and she was going to celebrate it with no birthday box from home.

"It's a family tradition!" she sputtered, popping the cork and holding the foaming bottle over the sink.

Katie sighed and felt an unexpected twinge of homesickness.

No, she reminded herself sternly, she liked her life in the military and had never been sorry for her impetuous decision to join the service straight out of High School. After all, it had certainly gotten her away from her nice, ordinary, quiet, small town life. No, she hadn't exactly "seen the world," as the ads had promised. But she had lived in Texas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado and now Illinois, which were five states more than the majority of the complacent people in her hometown of Exeter, Rhode Island, would ever live in, or even visit.

"Apparently that doesn't include my parents!" Katie poured the glass of champagne, sipped it and tapped her foot- still glaring at the phone. It seemed that during the past year her parents had gone on more Silver Adventure Tours than was humanly possible. "They must be trying to set some sort of record." Katie remembered the flirty banter in their voices and closed her eyes quickly at that particular visual image.

Her eyes snapped back open, and her gaze fastened again on the phone.

"But mom, none of your homemade chocolate chip cookies?" She sipped the champagne and discovered she needed a refill.

"How am I supposed to complete a birthday dinner without my box?" She reached into another bag and pulled out a package of skinless chicken breasts, a box of instant mashed potatoes and a bag of frozen broccoli. Pointing from the chicken to the champagne, she continued her one-sided discourse. "I have the meat group, veggie group and starch group covered. Then I have the fruit group, champagne, my personal favorite. How am I supposed to complete the cullinary birthday ensemble without the sugar and chocolate group?" She gestured in disgust at the phone.

Grabbing a knife from the cutlery drawer, she sliced open the chicken breast package and began prepping the breasts for cooking. Then using the same knife to punctuate her hand gestures, she continued.

"You guys always send something totally useless that makes me laugh and reminds me of home. No matter where I am. Like the year before last when I got that frog rain gauge. And I don't even have a yard! And how about the GOD BLESS THIS HOUSE stepping stone, which I have to hang on the wall of my apartment, because I don't have a house!" Katie's disgruntled look was broken by a smile as she recounted her parents' silly gifts.

"I suppose you're trying to tell me to get married, or at the very least, to become a homeowner."

She sliced the chicken into strips and sighed again, a little annoyed to realize that she probably sounded fifteen instead of twenty-five. Then she brightened.

"Hey! I forgot about my other message," she told the phone as she set her cutting knife down to scoop it back up, dialed her messages, and skipped past her parents' voices.

"Next message. Sent at 6:24 p.m."

Katie grinned as she stooped low to fetch a pot and pan from the cupboards and set them upon working burners. It was probably Renee, her oldest friend- actually she was the only high school friend Katie still kept in touch with. Renee had known her since fourth grade, and she rarely forgot anything, let alone a birthday. The two of them loved to laugh long distance about how they had managed to "escape" small town life. Renee had landed an excellent job working for a large hospital in the fun and fabulous city of New York. Her official title was Physician Affairs Liaison, which actually meant she was in charge of recruiting new doctors for the hospital, but she and Renee loved the totally unrealistic, risqué-sounding title. It was especially amusing because Renee had been happily married for three years.

"Hi, Katie, long time no call, girl!"

Instead of Renee's familiar Midwestern accent, the voice had a long, fluid Southern drawl. "It's me, Lisa. Your favorite Georgia peach! Oh, my- I had such a hard time getting your new number. Naughty you forgot to give it to me when you shipped out."

Katie's grin melted from her face like wax from a candle, dropping chicken breast strips into a sizzling oil-slicked pan. Lisa was one of the few things she hadn't missed about her last duty station.

"Just have a quick second to talk. I'm calling to remind you that my thirtieth birthday is just a month and a half away- December fifteenth, to be exact- and I want you to mark your little ol' calendar."

Katie listened with disbelief. "This is like a train wreck. It just keeps getting worse."

"I'm having the Party to End All Parties, and I expect your attendance. So put in for leave ASAP. I'll send the formal invite in a week or so. And, yes, presents are acceptable." Lisa giggled like a Southern Barbie doll.

"See y'all soon. Bye-bye for now!"

"I don't believe it." Katie punched the Off button with decidedly more force than was necessary. "First my parents forget my birthday. Then not only does it look like my oldest friend has forgotten it, too, but I get a call from an annoying non-friend inviting me to _her_ party!" she dropped the phone back on the counter.  
"A month and a half in advance!"

Katie tossed the half-cooked slices of chicken breast in the trash, vouching instead for leftover pizza and shoving the remaining ingrediants to her dinner along with the unopened bottle of champagne in the fridge.

"Consider yourself on deck," she told it grimly. Then she grabbed the open bottle of champagne, her half-empty glass, the plate of cold pizza and marched purposefully to the living room where she spread out her feast on the coffee table before returning to the kitchen for a handful of napkins. Passing the deceptively silent phone she halted and spun around.

"Oh, no. I'm not done with you; you're coming with me." She tossed the phone next to her on the couch.

"Just sit there. I'm keeping an eye on you."

Katie plucked a slice of delightfully chilly pizza and clicked on the TV- and groaned. The screen was nothing but static.

"Oh, no! The cable!" Because she would be out of the country for three months, she had decided to have the cable temporarily disconnected and had been proud of herself for being so money conscious. "Not tonight! I told them effective the first of November, not the thirty-first of October."

She glanced at the silent phone. "You probably had something to do with this."

And she started laughing, semihysterically.

"I'm talking to the telephone." She poured herself another glass of champagne, noting the bottle was now half empty. Sipping the bubbly liquid thoughtfully, Katie spoke aloud, pointedly ignoring the phone. "This obviously calls for emergency measures. Time to break out the Favorite Movies Collection."

Clutching the pizza slice between her teeth, she wiped her hands on a napkin before opening the video cabinet that stood next to her television set. Through a full mouth she mumbled the titles as she scanned her stash.

"Shadowlands, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Titanic, Dirty Dancing, West Side Story, Casablanca." She paused and chewed, considering.  
"Nope, too long- and not exactly birthday material. Humm..." she kept reading.  
"Spiderman, The Medicine Man, Australia, Last of the Mohicans, The Color Purple, Practical Magic, Braveheart, Fifth Element, War of the Worlds, Top Gun, Witches of Eastwick." She stopped. "This is exactly what I need. Some girl power."

She plunked the video in the DvD player. "No," she corrected herself. "This is better than girl power- it's woman power!"

Katie raised her glass to the screen, toasting each of the vibrant Hollywood ladies as they appeared. They were unique and fabulous, everything Katie was not.

Cher was mysterious and exotic, ith a full, perfect mouth and a wealth of seductive ringlets that framed her face like the mane of a wild, dark lioness. Katie sighed. She couldn't really do anything about her own little lips- if she did, they would look like something closely resembling a science experiment. Everything about her was kind of small. Even her ash brown hair which she had kept at a length just below her earlobe level. The sides she had hang at a length just longer than the rest of her hair, while her bangs she kept trimmed and styled rather messily- and she liked it that way. It gave her slightly boyish hairstyle an interesting and feminine appeal.

Michele Pfeifer- now there was a gorgeous woman. Even playing the role of Ms. Fertile Mom, she was still undeniably ethereal in her blonde beauty.  
No one would ever call _her_ cute.

And Susan Sarandon. She couldn't look frumpy even hen she was dressed like an old schoolmarm music teacher. She oozed sexuality. No guy would ever think of her as_ just a friend_. At least no heterosexual guy.

"To three amazing women who are everything I wish I could be!" She couldn't believe her glass was empty- and the bottle too.

"It's a darn good thing we have another." she patted the phone affectionately before rescuing the other champagne bottle from a life of loneliness in chilly confinement. Ignoring the fact that her steps seemed a little unsteady, she settled back, grabbed a fourth piece of pizza and slanted a glance at the ever-silent phone. "Bet it shocks you that someone who's so little can eat so much."

It answered with a shrill ring.

Katie jumped, almost choking on the half-chewed piece of pizza. "Good Lord, you scared the bejeezes out of me!"

The phone bleated again.

"Katie, it's a phone. Get it together, Sarg." She shook her head at her own foolishness. The thing rang again before she had her hands wiped and her nerves settled enough to answer it.  
"H-hello?" she said tentatively.

"May I speak with Katelyn Pierce, please?" The woman's voice as unfamiliar, but pleasant sounding.

"Speaking." Katie clicked the remote and paused her movie.  
"Miss Pierce, this is Jess Brown from Woodland Hills Resort in Branson, Missouri. I'm calling to tell you that your parents, Hellen and Brian, have given you a weekend in Branson at our beautiful resort for your twenty-second birthday! Happy Birthday, Miss Pierce!"  
Katie could almost see Jess Brown beaming in delight all the way from Branson- wherever that was.

"Twenty-fifth," was all she could make her mouth say.  
"I beg your pardon?"  
"It's my twenty-fifth birthday, not my twenty-second."  
"No." Through the phone came the sound of papers being frantically rustled. "No, it says right here- Katelyn Pierce, twenty-second birthday."  
"But I'm not."  
"Not Katelyn Pierce?" Jess sounded worried.  
"Not twenty-two!" Katie eyed the newly opened second bottle of Champagne. What were the odds that perhaps she was drunk and hallucinating?  
"But you are Katelyn Pierce?"  
"Yes."  
"And your parents are Hellen and Brian Pierce?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, as long as you're really you, I suppose the rest doesn't matter."  
Jess was obviously relieved.

"I guess not." Katie shrugged helplessly. She decided she might as well join the madness.  
"Good!" Jess's perkiness was back in place. "No, just a few little details you should know. You can plan your weekend anytime in the next year, but you will need to call to reserve your cabin..." Cabin? Katie's mind whirred. What had they done? "at least one month ahead of time or e cannot guarantee availability. And, of course, this gift is just for your personal use, but if you would like to bring a friend, the resort would be willing to allow him or her to join you for a nominal fee- _or_ for totally free if he or she would be willing to attend a short informational seminar about our time share facility."

Katie closed her eyes and rubbed her right temple where the echo of a headache was beginning.

"And along with your onderful Woodland weekend," Jess Brown alliterated, "your parents have generously reserved a ticket for you to the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre, one of the most popular and long-running shows in Branson!"

Katie couldn't stop the bleak groan that escaped her lips.  
"Oh, I can well understand your excitement!" Jess gushed. "We'll be sending you the official information packet in the mail. Just let me double-check your address..." Katie heard herself woodenly confirming her address.

"Okay! I think thats all the information we need. You have a lovely evening, Miss Pierce, and a very happy twenty-second birthday!" Jess Brown cheerfully clicked off the line.  
"But where _is_ Branson?" Katie asked the dial tone.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Shingeki no Kyojin is the intellectual and copyright property of Hajime Isayama. I do not claim any of the characters within this story that are a part of the original canon manga or anime. Any characters or things not officially mentioned within the Shingeki no Kyojin story are of my own invention.

Author's Note: Wow! The first chapter to my story has barely been up for 24 hours and already I'm getting so much interest! I'm very flattered, thank you.  
I apologize, I reread that first chapter and realized I was having problems with the w key. I have to hit it harder than the other keys, so I'll be fixing that chapter later today. Also, I'm going to warn that the last bit might have the character seem a little ooc but please keep in mind it is a dream, and not the real character.  
I've been writing these ahead of time on notebooks, so that the story flows better than if I were to write each chapter separately. The process is more time-consuming but overall it makes the story flow better. So waiting times might be long between chapters sometimes. I apologize for that in advance as well. Thank you again for taking an interest in this story! Enjoy!

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"That's right!" Katie shouted at the TV, sloshing champagne onto the carpet as she raised her glass dramatically.  
"Click him off, girlfriends! Jack Nicholson wasn't cute, anyway- it was the three of you who really had the magic the whole time."  
Katie hardly noticed her unsteadiness as she got to her feet to dance the Woman's Magic Victory Dance while the movie credits rolled.

"Mr. Phone." She took a break from her victory dance to catch her breath. Fleetingly, she wondered just who had eaten all that pizza.

Mr. Phone seemed to be smiling at her from his place on the couch.

"Do you know that women have all the magic?" He didn't answer.

"Of course you don't- you're a phone!" Katie giggled. "You didn't even know I was twenty-five instead of twenty-two."

She laughed until she snorted.

"But you do now. And after watching that most excellent movie, you should know that even small women can be strong, sexy and magical, too."

Mr. Phone seemed skeptical.

"It's true! Didn't Cher, Michele and Susan prove it?"

Katie wobbled, but only a little. "Oh, I see. You think _they _have the magic, but not an _ordinary_ woman, like me."

Katie couldn't be entirely sure, but he appeared to be willing to listen.

"Okay. You may be right, but what if you're not? What if women really do have something within them, and we just have to find it? Like they did." Katie felt the spark of an idea, and her brow wrinkled in an attempt at concentration. "They didn't believe it at first, either, but that didn't stop it from working. Maybe it doesn't matter if you're short, ordinary-looking, or if you're new somewhere and you don't have any friends yet." _Or_, Katie's mind added, _if your birthday has been forgotten. _"Maybe all it takes is a leap of faith."

And a milky light flashed in the corner of her left eye, breaking her concentration. _What the…? _A little shiver of trepidation fingered it's way down the nape of her neck. The light was coming from behind the closed drapes that shrouded the patio doors leading to her balcony.  
Katie checked the VCR clock. The digital numbers read 10:34p.m.

"Must be the streetlights from a parked car." But as she said it she knew it couldn't be true. Not in her top floor apartment. Car headlights didn't shine _up_. They also didn't have a quality of warmth that made her want to bathe herself in them. Katie's feet took her to the drapes before she consciously told them to move.

"You asked for some magic," she whispered. Slowly, like she was moving through the sweet twilight between awake and asleep, she reached up and parted the curtains.  
"Oh…" The word came out on a breath. "It _is_ magic." The full moon hung perfect and luminous above her as if it were a birthday offering from the universe itself. It bathed the riot of potted plants that crowded the balcony in a warm, opal-like glow. She quickly unlatched the glass doors and stepped out into the gentle warmth of a late October night.

Katie's balcony was large, and it looked out on a greenbelt that divided the apartment complex and an upscale neighborhood. The amazing balcony was the reason she had decided to stretch her budget and afford the rent for the pricey apartment. She loved to sit there and let the comforting sounds of the greenery melt away the tension that too often clung to her from work and could even stubbornly stay with her through her kick-boxing class and the warm bubble bath soak she so often took thereafter.  
She had spent many eventings there, enjoying the view, as was evident by the comfortable wicker rocking chair and the matching whatnot table that was just the right size to hold a book and a glass of something cold.

Suddenly, she tilted her head back and spread her arms, as if she could embrace the night. The full moon filled her vision and she felt her body flush, like she was being saturated in the light of another world.

And her head snapped up.

"It is true," she said to the listening night. "It must be true." And an idea was born, conceived of mostly champagne and moonlight. Katie grinned and whirled back through the open glass doors. Practically skipping, she rushed to her bedroom, already unbuttoning her air force uniform. The dark blue skirt and light blue blouse pooled with her pantyhose and bra upon the floor.

"Step one."

Naked, Katie pulled open her pajama drawer and pawed through it until she found the long, silk nightgown that lay at the bottom, ignored for her more practical cotton nightshirts. _A uniform is good for work, but not for magic_, she told herself and pulled the pale gown over her head, loving the erotic feel of it as it slid down her body.

"I will wear this more often," she promised aloud.

"Step two." She moved resolutely to her spare bedroom, which she had recently begun to set up as an office. So far she had only the time and money to buy a computer desk and chair for her five-year-old computer. Her books were stacked neatly on the floor, waiting for the bookshelves she had promised them.

She flicked on the overhead light and started searching through the piles of old textbooks, accumulated over the past seven years while she haphazardly took college classes, never sure which field she wanted to major in. Katie combed through texts that ranged from Anatomy and Physiology lab guides to Basic Business Accounting 101.

"Here you are!" She pulled out the medium-sized text that had been hidden under an enormous Humanities tome. It was entitled, Modern Theology- A Guide to New Age Religious Beliefs. Katie fondly remembered her semester with Professor Anderson in his Religious Studies class. He was a teacher who had made that otherwise boring class into one of her favorites. She could still hear Mr. Anderson's expressive voice reading aloud words describing how science and history were beginning to blend with modern religious philosophy.

"Where is it?" She mumbled to herself as she scanned the index, her finger lightly going down each row of names, finally stopped near the middle of the E's.

"Energy!"

She sat back on her heels, turned to page sixty-eight, and read aloud:

"Many cultures since ancient times have believed in the existence of energy, or life force, within all living things. From plants and animals to the Earth itself. In more recent years, believers in this energy have developed a theory that the energy within themselves can be harnessed and manipulated to mingle with the energies of the universe to achieve a certain goal or desire. Some have argued that this practice has been performed for centuries through meditation and prayer."

Katie nodded her head. This was exactly what she was looking for. Energy manipulation to create desires and outcomes was just a fancy way of saying "magic", right?

Flipping back to the index she turned pages until she found the C's.  
"Chants! Wish fulfillment chant page seventy-five."

She shuffled through the slick, white pages and made a victorious exclamation when she found it. "Ha! I knew it!" Silently she read the rhythmic invocation, tugging on her bottom lip in concentration.

When she had finished reading, she took the book to her desk and sat quietly for a moment, then with a satisfied smile she wrote a single sentence in blue ink on a piece of plain white Xerox paper and folded it once.

Bending the page to mark her place in the text, she headed back to the living room, book and paper in hand.

This time when she stepped onto the balcony she brought with her the book, the piece of paper, a fresh white-blue candle, a box of long-handled matches and a determination that showed clearly in the square set of her shoulders.

The whatnot table was just big enough to hold the candle, the box of matches and the piece of paper. As she lit the candle wick, the refreshing scent of spring rain rose from the whatnot table like streams of mist. The smoke swirled and writhed, hovering over the balcony. Clearly visible in the moonlight, it twisted and lifted in the warm breeze like ocean waves. Katie's breath caught in excitement as she hurried to position herself in front of the whatnot table. She sat in a meditative position upon the balcony floor, legs crossed with the book resting snug in her lap. With a growing sense of excitement she closed her eyes and with her hands resting fondly upon the book's cover, she began to recite the chant.

"I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish this night." As she fell into rhythm of the composed chant, the tentative quality left her voice and she felt an unexpected rush of feeling pass over the hair on her bare arms, almost like the spark of static electricity.

"For change of…" Katie paused. Here I this phase of the chant there was a blank space that had been written in the text for the chanter to invoke their desire. She took a deep breath, concentrating with all of her heart and soul, then chanted.

"For change of life anew this night I ask, and by the flame, I ask it last."

She felt a strong stirring within the pit of her gut she couldn't explain. Something was building within and it spurred her onward to continue.

"Brightest moon and stars in the sky, light this wish with flame held high."

A breath of air caressed her hands where they lay and for a moment the book quivered and felt alive in her hands.

Katie shivered in response. The night was hushed, like a lover waiting for her beloved's next words. She stood then, the energy she had built still welled up and tightening her chest, eager for release.

"I give my desires into your keeping."

With one hand she reached for the piece of folded paper, on which was written a single sentence in Katie's compact cursive hand, "I want adventure in my life." The wish filled her mind… _Oh, please,_ she prayed.

The paper caught instantly ablaze by the candle's fire in a fierce, green flame. Through her mind brushed the thought that it shouldn't have done that- it was just a simple piece of copy paper. Nothing about it could have made a wild, green flame. Katie's heartbeat increased erratically, but she forced herself to be steady. Focusing her entire being on her wish, her gaze fixated on the brilliant silver moon.

"By Earth, by air, by sacred tree. To the universe I pray, so mote it be."

Katie felt the stirring energy she had gathered suddenly release and dissipate, sending a sense of overwhelming relief through her body. As if in response, the breeze shifted and cooled. The smoke from her candle spiraled up, diaphanous and glowing a brilliant orange. Transfixed, Katie watched it disappear into the moon-drenched sky.

The breeze continued to increase, and Katie impulsively raised her hands over her head, fingers outstretched as if she could capture the moon within them. Slowly she began to sway, letting the wind move her in time to the symphony of the night. Her bare feet found their own dance as they followed the circumference of an imaginary circle. The wind licked her body, drawing the silk of her nightgown against the warmth of her skin.

Katie looked down at her body, and felt her eyes widen in surprise. Usually she thought of herself as too petite to be considered sexy, but tonight the moonlight mingled with silk, casting a spell on her body. Through the thin fabric her breasts were clearly visible and her small, perfect nipples felt sensitive and tight as they puckered against its softness. She swung her leg forward in a graceful dance step that had lain dormant within her since grade-school ballet lessons. The nightgown molded itself to her thighs, making her feel like she had just stepped from the canvas of a voluptuous Maxfield Parrish painting. The moonlight caught the ripples and folds of silk, giving life to the pale color and turning it into frothing seafoam. She laughed aloud at her unexpected beauty and twirled on feet that had wings.

"I have magic!" she proclaimed into the night.

Shadows flitted across the balcony, and she looked up to see the wisps of clouds, like half-formed thoughts, beginning to obscure the face of the attendant moon. The wind increased, and Katie's dance kept time with it, mirroring the tempo of the swaying trees.

The deafening crack of thunder should have frightened her, but instead Katie felt like the coming storm had been her own doing. When the blue-white shard of lightning pierced the sky, it only fueled her appetite for the night, and she whooped, adding her own voice to the tempest. Like a ripened fruit the sky burst open, sending a rush of whimsical rain to join in her celebration. Katie spun and twirled and laughed aloud. She reveled in every instant. She noticed how her plants seemed to move their leaves with her, and how the falling rain glistened amidst them like faceted jewels. Her eyes were drawn to the mundane stretch of blacktop parking lot below her, and she was amazed at how the rain had transformed it into the glasslike surface of a mysterious, shadow-covered ocean.

Katie lifted her arms and pirouetted as the rain swathed her in damp majesty. She laughed aloud and believed she clearly heard the sound of others laughing with her- and for a magically suspended moment their voices merged with her's, filling the balcony with joy and love. Then the sky exploded with another flash of light, and the rain roped down in a torrent. Katie realized that her drapes were bilowing wildly within her apartment and rain was drenching her living room carpet. Still laughing, she scrambled wetly through the open patio doors and pulled them securely closed behind her.

Shivering a little in a puddle of sopped carpet she should have felt melted; instead she felt invigorated. Katie held her arms away from her body and watched as drops of water, sparkling like diamonds, slid down the soaked cloth of her nightgown.  
"I have never been this alive." She was compelled to speak the words aloud. She shook her head, letting the water float around her, and ran her fingers through her short locks.  
"I will let it grow," she promised.

And she realized her hair wasn't all she was ready to change. She was going to break her own mold.

Walking lightly, she made her way back to her bathroom and pulled a thick towel from the linen shelf. On the short dresser next to her bed she lit a candle that she had bought from a quaint little boutique aptly named The Secret Garden. She breathed deeply, filling herself with the candle's delicious vanilla-rum fragrance. The sweet scent drifted around her as she flicked the thin, damp straps of the gown from her shoulders and let the fabric slither from her body. Standing in the candlelit room she began to towel dry, rubbing her already sensitized skin with light, circular strokes. Her hair was almost dry when she slid naked between the coolness of the clean sheets. As velvet sleep swept her away, Katie was sure she heard the laughter of many people, the same magical laughter she had heard while she danced in the rain on her balcony. Katie's lips curved into a smile, and she slept.

And while she slept, Katie dreamed that a man's voice called to her in low, seductively husky tones. Her dreaming body responded and strained forward in the darkness toward the call.

"Come to me." The smoky-rich voice sounded within her mind, and Katie's pulse jumped.

_Yes!_ She tried to yell her answer, but in her dream she was mute.

A light shimmered in the distance within the darkness and she peered at it, squinting into the brightness. Within that light a shape appeared. Katie strode quickly toward it, and the shape took on form and became a man. He was only a fraction taller than her with hardened blue eyes. His hair was short and dark with thick and shaggy locks trimmed in an attractive buzzcut-crop fashion that almost reminded Katie of a bowl cut. Through glistening light she could see a corner of his mouth upturn in a lazy grin as his outstretched hand beckoned to her. She tried to reach him and take his hand, but her arm felt leaden. It would not obey her desire to respond.

The man's handsome face sobered as his fierce blue eyes peered into her and the voice inside her head was filled with longing.

_Please come to me…  
_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of the characters within the original story found in the manga or the anime. I do, however, own Katelynn Pierce and any characters not found in the series. Katelynn and anything in this story is not to be used for any publications or artwork without my explicit notification and permission.

Author's Note: You guys really are awesome, all these views and words of encouragement really make me happy. However, I can't continue to update every day or I will catch up with where I am in my notebooks which will make any waits for you guys substantially longer and you'll hate me. So as a result I will try to update once every week to every two weeks if I can help it. With that said, I hope you enjoy the story. Here is chapter 3.

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A different kind of light played crimson shadows across her closed eyelids. _What an odd dream,_ Katie thought as she stretched luxuriously. The smooth feel of fresh sheets against her naked body mixed with poignant, unfulfilled seduction of the dream. She still felt super-sensitized and her naked body tingled.

Naked? She never slept in the nude. Why the heck was she naked? She flung her eyes open and cringed at the brightness of her bedroom, then quickly closed them again. It couldn't be later than 0730. Could it? Hadn't she set her alarm? Was she late for work? Her heart pounded.

Memories of the night came flooding back- the two bottles of champagne, the movie, the sudden brainstorm that led to the idea that led to the meditative ritual. Here she cringed and tried to burrow down into her sheets, but her memory was relentless.

"You'd think I'd had enough champagne that I would have blacked it all out," she groaned.  
She peeked over the side of the bed. The vanilla-rum candle had burned out. Well, at least she could be thankful she hadn't set her apartment on fire. She glanced down. Her nightgown made a rumpled, pale spot on her cream-colored carpet.

She shook her head and sighed. Two bottles of champagne- what had she been thinking?  
"I forgot," she muttered. "The process of rational thought stops after bottle number one." No wonder she'd had the weird dream; she'd been in a drunken stupor.  
She glanced back at the nightstand and squinted at her bedside alarm clock, which glared the numbers 11:42a.m. Katie's eyes widened. Panic banished the dream, and she sat bolt upright.  
"It's almost noon!" she yelped, scrambling to her closet to frantically pull out a fresh uniform before she remembered that she didn't have to report for duty that day. She was flying out tomorrow, which meant that today would be dedicated to packing and tying up the loose ends being gone for three months created.

She took a shaky breath and ran her hand through her hair. Actually, the only reason she had to go on base at all that day was to stop by the orderly room and pick up her new set of dog tags. (She was still chagrined over losing her last set during the move from Colorado.) Besides that, she just needed to buy some last minute toiletries for the trip, come back to the apartment and move her plants from the balcony to her living room so that her neighbor, Mrs. Boyd, could water them and finish her packing. And, of course, she had to remember to drop her key off with Mrs. Boyd before she left for the airport the next morning.

Katie took a deep breath. What was wrong with her? She was usually so organized and logical about a deployment. She had planned to get up early that morning and finish her business on base, then get her plants taken care of and her packing completed early so that she could spend the rest of the day relaxing.

The trip to Saudi Arabia would be long and exhausting, and Katie definitely was not looking forward to it- and that's not even considering how much she loved flying. She shook her head. Instead she'd chosen to send herself off with an enormous hangover. Katie marched into the bathroom and flipped on the shower. As the warm, soothing mist began to rise, she started searching through the cabinet for some aspirin for her tremendous headache. But before she found it, she stopped herself. Headache? No, now that she wasn't afraid she'd been AWOL for half a day, she realized her head didn't actually hurt. At all. Actually, she felt fine. She closed the cabinet door and studied herself in the mirror.

Instead of the sallow, hollow-eyed look of a morning-after hangover, Katie's hazel-colored eyes were clear and bright. Her gaze traveled down her naked body. Her skin was healthy and vibrant; she glowed with a lovely pinkish flush. It was almost like she had spent the night being pampered in an exclusive spa, instead of drinking two bottles of champagne, eating a ton of leftover pizza and getting caught in a thunderstorm while she danced in the moonlight.  
"Maybe…" she whispered to her reflection.

A thrill of delight traveled the length of her nakedness as she remembered the moonlight and the electric passion it had fueled within her body. She could almost feel the night against her skin again. The warm mist from the shower crept around her in thick, lazy waves.  
"Like the smoke from the burning paper," she gasped, and her heart leapt. "Remember," she told her reflection. "You promised to break your mold."

Tentatively, she raised her arms, trying to mimic her movements of the previous night and turned slowly in a sleepy pirouette. The fog swirled around her, licking her naked skin with the liquid warmth that reminded her of her sensuous, bittersweet dream. Thinking about the handsome stranger her sleeping mind had conjured, Katie continued to spin, catching quick glimpses of herself in the mist-veiled mirror. Her petite body looked lithe and mysterious, as if she had trapped some of the moonlight within herself.  
"You believed last night; believe today too." As she spoke something deep within her seemed to move, like smooth water over river pebbles.

"Magic…" Katie whispered.

Perhaps the night and the dream had been signs of things to come- things that would change- in her life. Maybe she just had to be open to change and answer when it called.

"Magic…" Katie repeated.

She danced and laughed her way into the shower, loving the warm fingers of water that rippled down her body.

She didn't stop smiling the entire time she dressed and applied just a touch of makeup. The feeling wouldn't go away. It was like someone had taken a key and opened up something inside her, and now that it was open, it refused to be locked away again.

She stepped into her favorite pair of button-up 501 jeans. After listening to the decidedly cooler weather forecast, she pulled on her thick gray sweatshirt with 'air force' written in block lettering across the front. Her feet felt light as she grabbed a V8 Splash from the fridge and hurried out of her apartment.

The stairs that spiraled gracefully from her top-floor apartment were still damp from last night's storm, which made Katie's smile widen. Everything looked preternaturally clear and beautiful. Her car was parked almost directly below her balcony, and as she unlocked it, she looked up. Her lips rounded in a wordless 'oh' of delight. The light of the midday sun formed a halo over the rich green foliage that still sparkled with beads of rain, making her balcony appear more like something submerged in an ocean than something on land.

_Magic is happening_. The thought sprang unbidden into her mind, and instead of questioning it, Katie took a deep breath and let the enticing idea settle.

The gate guard at Scott's North Entrance was checking military IDs, and when her turn came, Katie rolled down her window and beamed a cheery "Good morning!" to the serious-looking young airman. The granite set of his face softened, and he returned her grin with an endearingly lopsided smile.

"It's afternoon, ma'am," he corrected gently.  
"Oops!" she grinned. "Well, everything's so bright and clear today that it still seems like morning."  
"Hadn't thought about it 'til now, but I guess you're right. It is real pretty today." He looked honestly surprised at the discovery. "You have a good day, ma'am." He waved her through the gate, but his eyes stayed fixed on her and the lopsided smile was still painted on his face long after she had disappeared.

The Communications Squadron's orderly room was located in the Personnel Building. It was a typical military structure, large and square and made of nondescript red brick. Katie was pleased to see that a front row parking space was open. Usually the parking lot was ridiculously crowded, and she had to park far away down the street. The lawn surrounding the building and the hedges that bordered the entrance were meticulously manicured. The sense of obsessive neatness carried through to the interior of the building as well.

Katie pulled open the door and was greeted by the familiar smell of military clean. Yes ma'am. You _could_ eat off the floors, walls, ceilings and desks… literally. Directly in front of her a full-length mirror showed Katie's reflection. She automatically read the words printed across the top of the mirror: does your appearance reflect your professionalism?

Katie started to grin sheepishly at her jeans and sweatshirt, then she did a double take. Had her eyes ever looked so big? Entranced, she stepped closer to the mirror's slick surface. Her mother had always described her eyes as "cute" or "doelike". Katie usually didn't give them much thought beyond being glad that she had twenty-twenty vision. But today they seemed to fill her face. Their ordinary hazel color sparked with-  
"May I help you, ma'am?"

The rough voice caused Katie to jump guiltily. Her cheeks felt warm as she turned around to face a weathered-looking chief master sergeant.

"Uh, yeah. Can you tell me where I'd go to pick up my dog tags?"

"Sure can." As soon as she'd started speaking his gruff appearance softened, and he smiled warmly at her.

"The office for tags and military IDs is on the third floor. You can take the elevator that's down this hall." He gestured to the right.

"Thank you, Chief," Katie said and bolted to the elevator, face blazing.

The old chief stood for a moment looking after her.

"Now there's a pretty girl," he pronounced to the empty air.

The ID office wasn't hard to find- it was the busiest office in the building. Katie sighed as she took a number and found a seat along the wall. Orderly rooms were always ultra-busy during the lunch hour. She should have known better. Trying to find an interesting article in an old Air Force Times newspaper, she wished she had remembered to bring a book with her.

The room was almost empty and the black hands of the government issue clock told her forty-five minutes had passed when her number was finally called and she retrieved her new set of dog tags. Finally! Katie felt like she'd been set free. She punched the Down button on the elevator, and as the door glided open she ticked off her "to do" list on her fingers.

One: go to the Base Exchange and get a few toiletries.

Two: pick up some plant food-her stomach growled.  
And three: some people food. She'd eaten most of the leftover pizza last night, and anyway she couldn't handle pizza three nights in a row. Or at least she shouldn't. Suddenly she felt very regretful for throwing out the chicken in her frustration last night.

She had just begun to step forward into the elevator when a woman's commanding voice spoke a single word.

"Wait!"

Katie hesitated and turned. The woman standing behind her was breathtakingly lovely.

"What?" Katie asked stupidly, stunned by the woman's beauty. She was tall- she seemed to tower over Katie's five foot one inch frame. And her hair was amazing; Katie had never seen anything so beautiful. It was the color of a dark night sky and it cascaded to the curve of her waist. Her face was regal and her cheekbones were high and well formed. But it was her eyes that captured Katie in their glistening gray depths.

"Wait, daughter." The woman smiled, and Katie felt the warmth of that smile envelop her. She wanted to ask why she should wait, and why the incredibly gorgeous woman would call her daughter, but her mouth didn't seem willing to work.

All she could do was stand there and grin inanely back at the woman like a nervous kindergarten child meeting her teacher.

"WAIT, MA'AM!"

The shout came from the far end of the hall, and she turned her head just in time to see a man dressed in a firefighter's uniform launching himself at her. The tackle carried them several feet from the elevator's open doors. As soon as they slid to a halt the firefighter jumped up.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" He was trying to help her to her feet while he brushed nonexistent dirt off her jeans.

Katie couldn't believe it. The wind had been knocked out of her, so all she could do was gasp for air and glare at the man.

"Sorry, ma'am. Didn't mean to be so rough, but I had to stop you from getting in that elevator," he said.

"W-what," Katie sucked air and wiped her tearing eyes "are y-you talking a-about?"

"Well, the elevator, ma'am." He pointed at the still-open doors.

_The doors must be stuck_, Katie concluded.

"You tackled me because the doors were sticking?" Thankfully she was regaining her ability to breathe and speak at the same time.

"No, ma'am. Not 'cause the doors are stuck." As if on cue the doors closed. "Because the elevator is stuck." He paused, letting Katie absorb his words. "On the first floor."

"That can't be," Katie spoke woodenly. "I just rode it up here." The firefighter made a scoffing sound.

"Sure, and an hour ago it was working. It just stuck 'bout five minutes ago. We were running an exercise next door for some new recruits when the First Shirt asked us to give him a hand in posting the warning tape and being sure that everyone on this floor knew about the problem."

For the first time Katie noticed that clutched in one hand he had a roll of yellow warning ribbon much like the tape civilian police used to secure crime scenes.

"I don't believe it," she said.

"Take a look for yourself. Just be careful." He stepped out of her way. Katie approached the elevator and pressed the down button, just like she had only minutes before. The doors swung smoothly open and Katie peered down into a dark shaft of nothingness. She felt dizzy.

"Good thing I saw you. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I'd been a second later." The firefighter shook his head and pursed his lips.

"But it wasn't you," Katie said shakily. "I _was_ getting ready to step into the elevator." Katie looked wildly around the hall, ashamed it had taken her so long to acknowledge the woman.

"It was the woman standing behind me. She warned me- that's why I hadn't already walked into the elevator."

Katie felt a wave of nausea. She hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings; she'd been too busy tallying errands.

"Uh, ma'am," the firefighter said gently. "Are y ou sure you're feeling okay?"  
"Of course. I'm fine." Katie was still looking down the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of the beautiful woman.

"Maybe you should sit down for a while."

"What are you talking about?" Katie snapped. First the guy tackled her, then he was trying to analyze her. She checked the stripes on his arm. Yep. She even outranked him.

"I just want to find the woman who warned me so that I can thank her."

"That's what I mean, ma'am. There was no one else in the hall with you." A chill shivered through Katie's body. She shook her head in disbelief. "Yes, there was. She was standing right behind me. I was talking to her when you knocked me down."

"Ma'am," he took her arm and eased her down the hall away from the open shaft. "You weren't talking to anyone. You were just standing there getting ready to step into the elevator."

"She was right behind me," Katie repeated.

"No one was there. No one is here now." His gesture took in the rest of the hall. "There's only one way out besides the elevator, and that's the stairwel, right there." He pointed at the doorway from which he had emerged. "She would have had to walk past me to get there, and she didn't."

"You didn't see her?" Katie asked numbly.

"No, ma'am," he said quietly. "And people don't just appear and disappear like magic." _Magic_… The word echoed in Katie's mind and she had to struggle to pay attention to the rest of what he was saying.  
"Maybe you hit your head. You know you could have blacked out for a second. I knocked you down pretty hard. Our guys can take you to sick call at the clinic and have you checked out."

"No!" Katie swallowed, regaining her wits. "See, I'm fine."

She ran her fingers through short-cut locks and around her head, pushing and prodding without cringing to show there was no tenderness.

The door to the stairwell opened and another fireman appeared and yelled down the hall. "Hey, Steve! Got that tape run yet?"

"I'm working on it," Katie's fireman answered.

"Well, hurry it up. We don't have all day to play with pretty girls." He smiled and tipped his helmet to Katie.

Steve's face colored, and Katie took the opportunity to make her retreat.  
"I'll let you get back to work." She headed quickly for the door, which the second fireman held wide open for her.

"And I do appreciate you saving me from a nasty fall."

She ducked into the stairwell and Steve's "Don't mention it, ma'am" drifted after her, but Katie hardly heard him. She was too busy repeating a single sentence that she could see clearly in her memory. It was written in her concise cursive in blue ink against white paper.

_I want adventure in my life._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin, all characters pertaining to the manga and anime are the intellectual and copyright property of Hajime Isayama. The only characters I claim as my own is Katelynn Piece, my OC and any characters not found within the series.

Author's Note: I couldn't wait to post this chapter, because I'm sure a lot of people are getting impatient considering we haven't even gotten to the plane crash yet. However, it's a small chapter and I am going to tell you right now that the crash is next chapter. These past few chapters are just to get you acquainted with the life she had before the crash and going into the SNK universe. Mostly because I know many young readers are not familiar with military life and Katelynn had to do all this goofy stuff before she was actually sent to the SNK universe. You'll see. Anyway, enjoy the update.

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Katie drove quickly to the Base Exchange, glad it was situated between the Personnel Building and the base's north exit. She could run in, grab what she needed and get right out- and then she could hurry back to her apartment. She needed to be alone to sit and think about thwat had just happened. She hadn't imagined the woman; she was certain of that. But that was all she was certain of. She pulled into the crowded Base Exchange parking lot, and as she drove by the main entrance she noticed an empty parking spot- the closest spot to the front doors that wasn't reserved for highranking officers. Katie parked with a growing sense of wonder.

"I am having some seriously good parking luck today," she murmured.

The Base Exchange, known by military personnel as the BX, reminded Katie of a weird cross between an upscale department store and a flea market. Scott's BX was no exception. Just inside the front doors, but before she entered the body of the Exchange itself, was scattered booth after booth of sales people hawking everything from deli sandwiches to "designer" handbags and jewelry.

Katie hurried past the colorful area and impatiently let the BX worker check her ID. She almost sprinted to the section of the store that sold toiletries and haphazardly chose the necessary travel items. Then she had to stop herself from screaming in impatience as the cashier seemed to take forever to ring up her purchases.

Rushing back out the door, the scent of food and the insistent growling in her stomach made her pause. Why not get something for dinner right there? That meant she wouldn't have to stop again on the way home. She followed her nose down the row of kiosks until she located the deli sandwich stand and ordered a hot Italian sub.

While she was waiting for her order to be filled, the back of her neck began to itch. Like somoene was staring a hole into it. Brow wrinkled in irritation, Katie turned to find the woman at the jewelry stand directly across from the sandwich booth smiling graciously at her. She was wearing a flowing dress made of sapphire velvet. She raised a well-manicured, bejeweled hand and gestured for Katie to join her.

"Come!" she said.

Katie opened her mouth to decline the odd invitation, but the woman spoke again.  
"No. Do not think. Just come." Her thick accent rolled the words.

"Five dollars is your total," the sandwich man said.

Katie paid him, and then she did something unusual, something outside her mold. Without thinking, she let her feet carry her across the aisle to the jewelry stand.

"Ah," the woman said, taking Katie's right hand in both of hers and turning it over so she could study her palm. "I knew it. They have touched you."

"They?"

"The cosmic deities. They represent the universe itself. They are many, and they are one." The woman didn't look up from Katie's palm, but kept speaking matter-of-factly in her richly accented voice. "Yes, I saw it in your aura, and I see it clearly here. You are beloved by her."

"How-" Katie started to ask, but the woman wasn't finished.

"But your journey will be long and arduous." She squinted at Katie's palm like she saw something disturbing there.

"Well, I am leaving for a ninety-day TDY to Saudi Arabia tomorrow," Katie said. The woman's gaze lifted from Katie's palm.

"No, little daughter, I do not mean a journey of distance. I mean a journey of spirit." Katie was struck by a sense of familiarity as their eyes met. Then the woman abruptly dropped her hand and turned.  
"Where is it?" The woman muttered to herself as she searched through a nest of hanging necklaces.  
"Ah, here you are." Triumphantly she held the necklace out to Katie.

It was lovely. The silver chain was long and delicate, and suspended from it by latticework of silver ivy intermingled with drops of Amethyst was a glistening cinnamon-colored stone. It was about the size of Katie's thumb and shaped like a perfect teardrop.

"Amber," the woman said. "It was formed by resin fossilized in the bosom of the Earth."

"I've never had any amber," Katie said. "But I've always thought it was beautiful."

"This piece is the same shade of brown in your eyes." The woman smiled.

Katie thought she was doing one heck of a sales job.

"How much is it?" Katie asked, returning the exotic woman's smile.

"The necklace is not for sale."

Katie frowned. Was the woman trying to get her to look at a more expensive piece?

"This necklace is a gift." In one motion the woman placed it over Katie's head.

"But, I can't accept this!" Katie sputtered.

"You must. It is meant to be yours," she said simply. "And I sense that there has been an event for which such a gift is appropriate. No?"

"Well, it was my birthday yesterday," Katie admitted.

"Ah, a Samhain child. How appropriate. So you see, it is already yours. Take it with you on your journey. Wear it always. Amber and Amethyst are protective stones that ward off negative and invoke positive." The woman's eyes were dark and serious.

"You may have need of it, little daughter." Then her eyes lightened and she hugged Katie. "Now go home and prepare." She cocked her head like she was listening to something and added, "Your plants are calling you."

"Thank you," Katie said. Blinking in surprise she let the woman turn her and give her a gentle push toward the front doors. The amber drop nestled heavy and warm between her breasts. Katie touched the stone and her face broke into an amazed grin.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the original Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) anime or manga. All characters relating to the original production are intellectual and copyright property to Hajime Isayama. The only characters I lay claim to are those not found in the original series, and the use of any of these characters in works other than my own require my permission.

Author's Note: So two updates in one day, and I feel it in my hands. This is a BIG update for you all who have been so kind to me thus far. Sending very encouraging reviews, favoriting the story and following the story's progress. Thank you. This should also keep your appetite whet while I pump out the next chapter in the next couple weeks. I didn't want to do it this way but I feel like these chapters just sitting here are just glaring at me, begging to be read.  
On a side note, I tried to keep anything religious to a minimum so it could be interpreted based on whatever your religion is. I also tried not to make it too crazy but I couldn't see any alternative. Anyway, enjoy!

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Dear Mrs. Boyd,

Thank you for taking care of my plants while I'm gone. I put the plant food next to the watering can in the kitchen. Please remember to feed them every two weeks. And it would be really nice if you'd talk to them a little too. I know it sounds silly, but I think they like it. Enclosed, you'll find my key and a gift certificate to Luby's Cafeteria. I hope you and your girlfriends have fun. I'll be home in ninety days. If anything goes wrong you have the number of my first sergeant at Scott. Again, thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Katie

P.S. Yes, you can borrow any of my videos! Enjoy!

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Katie slipped the letter into the envelope with her key and the Luby's gift certificate, then she slid it under Mrs. Boyd's door. Mrs. Boyd was sweet and about a thousand years old, and she flat out refused to take any money for watering Katie's plants and keeping an eye on her apartment while she was gone. But Katie knew that she and her girlfriends loved to go to Luby's after church on Sundays- so she'd splurged on a one-hundred-dollar gift certificate for her. Katie wished she didn't have to leave so early, and she could be there to see the expression on Mrs. Boyd's face when she found the certificate. The thought made her smile in the predawn light while she struggled to carry her duffel bag down the three flights of winding steps and stuff them in the trunk of her car.

It was so early that the traffic to Scott was unusually light, and Katie's thoughts drifted back ot the events of the past twenty-four hours. After she'd left the base and gone home, the rest of her day had been spent moving her horde of plants and finishing her packing.

There certainly hadn't been any magical happenings in any of that. That night she had even stood on the balcony trying to recapture the moonlit magic of the night before, but clouds had rolled in and there was no moonlight, nor any magic.

Could she have imagined the lady by the elevator yesterday? She didn't think so. The weight of the amber tear between her breasts told her the lady at the BX hadn't been a figment of her imagination, either. And why should she question and try to poke holes into what had happened? She wanted it to be true; she wanted adventure in her life.

One hand crept up to rub the Amber and Amethyst pendant with restless fingers, and Katie nervously checked the car clock. It was almost 0530, and she was almost to the base. The shuttle that would take her from Scott to Lambert International Airport left the base at 0615. Her flight departed Lambert for Baltimore at 0825. At Baltimore she would board a military charter that would take her to the US Air Base in Italy. From there she would travel via an Air Force C-130 cargo plane to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The whole trip would total just over twenty-four hours, with about twenty of those hours spent in the air. The only thing that would make her happier was a window seat on each flight- she couldn't wait. Right now the tickling butterflies in her stomach were a silent testament to how nervous she felt about the long trip. If her mom had been here she would berate her, for the thousandth time, for joining the air force and not becoming a pilot in the process.

"Well, honey," she would say, "why in the blue blazes would you join the flying branch of our armed forces and not fly?"

Katie's answer was always the same. "I researched it, Mom. And there are a lot of non-flying jobs that are in need of talented personnel. Mine, for one example."

Her mother would make a scoffing sound and shake her head. Katie had to wonder if her parents really understood that her military job was much like a civilian position in a big multi-media corporation. She was in charge of quality assessment for the Base Communications Center. Did they think she could covertly fly fighter planes?

She usually had only one or two temporary duty assignments each year, and, yes, she had to fly to them. The only difference was she rode in the plane instead of flying it. Many jobs required their employees to travel periodically. Well, Katie smiled to herself, civilian jobs didn't typically require their employees to periodically travel into war zones. Her smile tightened. And she believed in what she was doing. She didn't think of it as being a hero or particularly patriotic; she had simply chosen a career that gave her the opportunity to serve her country in a very visible way. And, she admitted to herself, she liked the challenge the air force presented. There were always new people to meet, hurdles to cross, and new places to go. Katie thrived on change- she'd had enough stagnation in the first eighteen years of her small town life to last for the next fifty-eight years.

She breathed deeply, trying to quiet her nerves. Actually, she realized, it was odd for her to be feeling preflight jitters to this extent. Right now she'd rather face several members of the Taliban than a long airplane flight. Weird, she told herself, noting the sick feeling in her stomach. She hadn't felt scared about a flight since grade school when she flew to Florida with her parents. Maybe she was having some kind of premonition of danger? Could she be ultra-nervous because her sixth sense was trying to tell her something?

Her stomach growled, startling her, then making her smile. No, it was more likely that her upset stomach had been caused by the fact that she had been in too much of a hurry to eat breakfast. She'd have to try to get something to eat on the plane. She laughed out loud. Now there was something truly terrifying- airline food…

Katie reminded herself of that while her stomach continued to roll nervously as she made her way across America. The layover in Baltimore was brief, and she had to scramble to catch her shuttle to the military charter, which was actually a huge commercial 747 stuffed with military personnel of varying ranks. Katie stuck her face in a book and tried desperately to ignore the fact that they were hurling forward at an obscene rate of speed entirely too far above the earth- a fact that had never bothered her before.

The captain of the flight announced via the intercom that they would be landing at the air base in Italy in twenty minutes. He informed them proudly that the weather was a beautiful seventy-five degrees, with clear skies and a local time of almost 10:00a.m., even though Katie's internal clock insisted it was almost 2:00a.m. instead. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair and rubbed her sand-filled eyes, wishing desperately that she could have relaxed enough to sleep during the long flight.

Just one more leg of this trip, she told herself. Katie took the file that held her orders and her itinerary out of her carry-on. Yes, she'd remembered correctly. She had a little over an hour and a half layover in Italy. Unfortunately, it was not enough time to see any of the country, but it would give her enough time to grab something to eat and to change from the civilian clothes she had been travelling in, to the desert cammo fatigues that were the accepted uniform for the last leg of her trip on the C-130. The thought of the military cargo plane made her shudder and almost forget that the plane she was on was currently landing, the second most dangerous time in a flight- takeoff being the most dangerous. Katie had flown in a C-130 twice before; as much as she loved flying, the cargo plane was always the most uncomfortable. C-s were huge cargo transport vehicles with bigger-than-human sized propellers, no real passenger seats and rough, loud rides. That's why they were called C-130s. The C stood for cargo, which is what they were built to carry, not passengers.

Katie thought it would probably be a futile quest to try and find a nice bottle of chilled champagne at 10:00a.m. anywhere on the air base within walking distance of the flight line, but she decided that as soon as she changed clothes she would make the attempt. Food could wait. Champagne should be a travel necessity.

"Sarg! Wake up, we're boarding now." A rotund master sergeant shook her shoulder. Katie looked blearily around and tried to remember where she was.

"Let's go- everyone else is ready to go and we're closing up the tail." The master sergeant continued. "Should be airborne in no time."

Reality caught up with Katie, and she scrambled to follow the master sergeant out of the passenger waiting area and onto the flight line proper. She rubbed her fingers through her hair and struggled to wake up. She couldn't believe she'd fallen into such a deep sleep. Her mouth tasted stale and her mind was fuzzy, but she quickly pieced together the past hour and a half. She had changed out of her jeans and sweater into her desert fatigues, then she'd gone in search of libations. No, she hadn't found any champagne, just a semihot roast beef sandwich and a semicold beer. She guessed she could have never had that beer- it certainly hadn't agreed with her like champagne did. And then all thoughts of food and drink scattered out of her head as she approached the C-130. The enormous plane crouched on the runway like a mutated insect. It was painted the typical military green, which did nothing to dispel the buglike appearance. Its opened tail end was facing her, and she could glimpse enough of the inside of the thing to see that it was crammed full of huge, plastic-draped pallets of cargo. Katie mentally shook her head in disgust. It looked like some horrible bug that was getting ready to poop. The metallic sound of hydraulics being engaged clicked on, and Katie watched the tail section begin to close. The master Sergeant motioned for her to catch up with him. "Don't worry about the butt end being closed. You can board through the door in the front."

He pointed to a tall, narrow open area in front of and below the left wing. Stairs were pulled down from somewhere within the plane, and it was just a few short steps up into the aircraft. Katie walked a wide circle around the silent, evil-looking set of propellers that side of the plane, all the while sending them nervous glances.

The master sergeant noticed her discomfort and laughed.

"Hell, they can't hurt you when they're not turned on."

"But they are getting ready to be turned on, aren't they?" She responded.

"Right you are, Sarg. So you better get aboard." He took her elbow to steady her on the steps.

"Watch your head," he added.

"Ouch!" Too late, Katie thought, grabbing her forehead where she had smacked it into a ledge of low-hanging equipment that protruded from the ceiling just inside the entrance. Rubbing her head, she turned to the right and stepped up into the cargo/passenger area of the plane. Her eyes were watering with pain, and she could already feel a knot swelling under her fingers. She sincerely wished she was better at cussing; this was certainly the proper time to let loose with several choice words.

"Well, that's a darn stupid place to put a-" Katie stopped and blushed furiously. Six male faces were turned in her direction. They belonged to men clad in traditional sand-colored desert-issue flight suits. Each man wore the same distinctive patches and wings that clearly identified him as an F-16 Viper pilot.  
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," called out one of the pilots, a young lieutenant with a face that looked like it should have been on the cover of an air force recruiting poster. "Nice of you to wake up and join us."

Katie felt her blush deepen. She was exhausted. Her face was greasy. She had sleep-head hair, and she was wearing desert cammos that on the best of days made her look about twelve years old. Needless to say, that moment was far from the best of days. Her eyes were bloodshot and her breath had to smell like the bottom of a bird cage. And she had just walked into a whole group of handsome pilots after smacking herself on the head like an idiot right in front of them. Not to mention she was inside of a cargo plane that was about to take off.

"Ignore him Sergeant… " Said a colonel with just enough gray in his thick hair to make him look dignified. He hesitated as he read her nametag. "Sergeant Pierce. He's just pissed because he doesn't look as cute as you do when he sleeps."

"Yeah," a lanky-looking captain added. "He drools."

That got a laugh from the group, and Katie hurried into the cargo bay, settling into the first seat that was available. She stowed her carry-on under her feet and busied herself with securely fastening her seat belt, which was the same red color as her fold-down seat and the meshed webbing that served as a back rest. Katie wondered, as she did each time she flew in a C-130, why the seats and webbing were all bright red, when everything else about the plane was either military green or metallic gray. It made her feel vaguely uncomfortable, as did the open view of aircraft equipment and pipes and wires and such. At least civilian planes had all the stuff covered by smooth, white walls. Here the guts of the plane were showing.

Lashed to the floor at intervals of about six feet were the pallets of cargo Katie had caught sight of from outside the plane. They filled the body of the cargo bay. Hesitantly, Katie let her eyes travel to the other occupied seats, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she could only see three of the six pilots. The cargo blocked her view of the others. Katie sighed. As usual the plane was outfitted with little thought to human comfort. Hers appeared to be the last available seat- the rest were either folded up or already occupied. A young captain was seated a little way to her right. He was listening to a CD through headphones, and he had his head propped comfortably back on a pillow, but nodded a brief hello to her. Across from her and about three folded seats to the left she could see the colonel, who was obviously the pilots' ranking officer. He was deep in discussion with someone sitting to his right, but Katie couldn't see him because a stack of plastic-covered equipment blocked her view. The only other pilot she had a clear view of was sitting across the aisle from her and to her right. She glanced at him and caught him staring at her, and then she was astounded to see a bright crimson blush rise into his well-defined cheeks.

Good Lord, she thought. Why was _he_ blushing? The man looked like a gorgeous statue come to life. She quickly looked away, but the sound of his voice made her eyes snap back to his.  
"Urn, hello," he said. His voice was deep and husky, but he didn't boom it at her like so many military men seemed to think they need to. His eyes traveled up to the knot on her forehead. Great. No wonder he was blushing. He had obviously seen her bonk her head like a moron, and he was probably embarrassed for her.

"I did the same thing on the way in," he said and pointed to his own head, where a faint pink blotch painted a raised bump in the middle of his forehead.

Katie couldn't have been more surprised if he had sprouted wings and laid an egg.  
"And I don't even have the excuse that I'd just woken up and was still groggy. Mine, Sergeant Pierce, was the result of plain clumsiness."

Katie felt a genuine giggle bubble from her lips. The handsome pilot echoed her laugh.

"Please," she said, "call me Katie."

"Okay, Katie. I'm Chris."

Katie's grin sobered. "Don't you think I better call you Captain something?" It was fine for an officer to call an enlisted person by his or her first name, but the other way around was considered too familiar- and the air force sincerely frowned on too much familiarity between officers and sergeants. _Even if the officers looked like living statues_, Katie thought regretfully.

But Chris's grin didn't fade. "Actually, no. Like the rest of these guys, I'm stationed at the Air National Guard Unit in Illinois." He leaned forward and glanced around like they were sharing a secret. "We do things a little differently in the Guard. So just plain old Chris is okay with me." Katie didn't know what to say. Of course she knew there was an Air Guard Fighter Unit in Belleville- her Comm Center had sent and received messages from them several times during the past three months. But she'd never met any of the pilots. Actually, the only fighter pilots she'd ever met were at bars on Karaoke night at her last duty station in Peterson AFB, Colorado. They had been arrogant and conceited and had not impressed Katie or her girlfriends at all. She couldn't imagine any of them insisting she call them by their first names, at least not in daylight. Thankfully, she was saved from answering Chris by the appearance of the master sergeant who had herded her on the plane.

"Okay, gentlemen," he said, glancing at Katie and adding, "and ladies. We're fixin' to get underway. I shouldn't have to tell such a distinguished group to buckle up and stow your carry-ons, but I thoguht I'd better remind you since you're not used to riding in the back seats." He chuckled at his lame joke as he made his way slowly through the cargo bay, checking the security of the pallets and pilots. The pilots paid him about as much attention as they did the pallets.

Katie sighed as the numbing noise of the giant, rotating propellers started to vibrate through the plane. The sound made her realize that she had left her earplugs in her carry-on. Katie unsnapped her seat belt and crouched down to pull her carry-on out from underneath the seat, and as she was feeling around in the side pocket her eyes traveled to the wall behind her seat. Her brow furrowed in confusion. That was odd; she hadn't noticed before that framing her seat were two thick, red stripes painted on the inside wall of the plane. Between these stripes were stenciled in bright red words **DANGER **and **PROPELLER**, over and over.

"Sarg, you need to stow that and take your seat." The master sergeant had made his way over to her. Katie grabbed her earplugs, shoved the bag back and regained her seat. But when the master sergeant tried to walk on down the bay, she called him back.

"Sergeant," she almost had to yell to be heard over the propeller noise.

"What do those red lines and words mean?" She pointed over her shoulder.

"That's marking where the propeller would come through the aircraft if we was to throw one." He grinned, flashing her a wealth of yellowed teeth. "But that don't happen very often." He laughed and moved on.

Katie wasn't sure if she should cry or scream- but her body had suddenly frozen solid, so she found she was only able to sit there, ramrod straight and perfectly still.

.

Across the aisle Chris had overheard the entire exchange. He grimaced to himself as he watched the little sergeant's face turn a ghostly shade of white, which only made her big hazel eyes look more fawnlike and appealing. She was such a small, young thing. She'd already looked a little nervous when she'd bumped her head and stumbled into the plane, and now she looked practically terrified. Something inside him lurched insistently.

"Katie," he called to her.

She didn't respond.

"Katie," he repeated, noting the glazed look in her eyes when they finally met his. "Would you trade seats with me? I hate flying on this side of the plane." He thought for a second, then added. "It's one of those weird pilot superstitions." He shrugged helplessly, like he was ashamed to admit it.

"Trade seats with you?" She asked as if she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Yep. I'd sure appreciate it." He beamed his best nice-guy smile at her.

"I suppose so," she said slowly. "If you really want to."

"I really want to," he said.

"Okay then."

He unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed his flight bag from under the seat. Before she could get her own carry-on, he crossed the ten feet or so that separated them.

"I'll get that for you," he said, taking the bag from her.

.

Katie looked up at him. This close he was even more gorgeous. And just how tall was he? His muscular body seemed to stretch forever. His short, military cut hair was a medium shade of blonde, shot with glistening streaks that looked like they had been dipped in the sun. Actually, his whole body, or at least what could be seen peeking out of his flight suit, looked like he had been blessed by the sun. Unlike so many blondes, he wasn't washed-out looking. Instead he was an irresistible shade of golden tan. His face was made of strong, square lines, and his lips… Katie felt herself staring and she jerked her gaze from those amazing lips to his soft, brown eyes, which were smiling down at her.

"Thank you," she managed to stammer.

"Not a problem. Actually, you're doing me a favor."

He took her elbow and guided her to his seat.

"Always the gentleman, ain't ya, Apollo." The master sergeant scoffed as he passed back by the two of them.

"Just get her in that seat, and get yourself in yours."

Katie hurried to sit down, then she sent a questioning glance up at Chris.

"Apollo?" she asked.

"That's my call sign." He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Believe me, it wasn't my idea."  
"Oh," was all Katie could make her mouth say. It might not have been his idea, but it was certainly appropriate.

"Don't forget to fasten your seat belt," he said before turning to cross the aisle and take his place at his new seat.

Katie's eyes had a will of their own, and they certainly appreciated Apollo's rear view. Of course, when he turned around and took his seat, she made sure she was very busy checking her seat belt, trying to find a comfortable place in the webbing, doing anything but gawking at him. And anyway, why was she getting so moon-eyed over him? Men who looked like that, especially fighter pilot men who looked like that, weren't interested in little, ordinary-looking staff sergeants. Unless maybe they had some kind of kid sister complex. That was probably it, she told herself. He probably had a younger sister at home and that was why he was paying attention to her.

The propeller noise grew to a deafening level, and Katie put in her earplugs. Then the C-130 lurched forward. It moved slowly at first, but soon picked up speed as it made its way down the flight line to their designated runway. Katie felt her palms begin to moisten and her stomach knot. It was the unfamiliar fear she felt several hundred miles ago in Illinois. She closed her eyes and repeated over and over to herself: military flights rarely crash; military flights rarely crash; military flights rarely crash.

Too soon they were poised at the end of the runway, propellers gyrating at a crazed speed, plane quivering with a need to take off. Or, Katie thought desperately, with the need to fail a takeoff and shred itself in the crash. She felt the brakes release, and the C-130 began its acceleration down the runway. Katie's eyes popped open. She didn't want to die with her eyes closed.

A movement caught her panicked gaze and drew her eyes across the aisle to Chris. His long body was sprawled comfortably in its new location. He was giving her a thumbs up sign, and he looked relaxed and calm. Chris grinned boyishly at her and mouthed the words, "Not a problem." Then he gave her a flirty wink.

Well! Katie felt a rush of pleasure. She certainly didn't think he'd give a sister a wink like that. And the way he continued to smile and stare at her… it just didn't look like the way a man looked at a woman he was only interested in because she reminded him of a little sister. Stunned, Katie realized with relief that the butterflies in her stomach had nothing to do with flying.

When the plane lifted off a few seconds later, Katie thought that she might have just experienced the most graceful, seamless takeoff in the history of the United States Air Force. Actually, once the plane became airborne, Katie's nervous stomach had completely disappeared. It was as if she had never feared the flight at all. They climbed to their cruising altitude so smoothly that Katie found herself totally relaxing against the soft webbing, and she was surprised to feel her eyelids growing heavy. Struggling to stay awake, she glanced at Chris. He was reading a book, but the moment her eyes touched him he looked up. He studied her for a moment, then an astounding thing happened. Katie could hardly believe it when he mouthed the words, "Sleep. I'll keep watch."  
Then he gave her that flirtatious wink again. 

Katie felt a little thrill travel down her spine. He was going to stay awake and keep watch. Over her. And that wink said he wasn't thinking of her as a kid sister. Katie's eyelids fluttered shut as her sleepy mind whispered that Chris's presence was certainly going to make the deployment more interesting.

.

Chris watched her as she fell asleep, a contented smile curving her sexy lips. He rubbed a hand over his brow and smiled quizzically at himself. What was it about that girl? Ever since he'd caught sight of her curled up in the waiting area sound asleep, he couldn't stop looking at her or thinking about her. It was totally unlike him. Women usually threw themselves at him because of how he looked and while he didn't complain about that, he certainly never felt the need to seek them out, or change seats with them because they looked scared, or reassure them because they seemed scared of the flight itself. He rubbed his brow again and tried to force his attention to the novel in his hands, but instead of black words on white paper, he kept seeing hazel eyes framed by thick, dark lashes.

.

Katie dreamed that she was swaying gently in a hammock that hung between two giant palm trees on the shore of a pristine ocean. Warm tropical breezes tickled her skin and kept the hammock moving hypnotically back and forth. Then, the wind shifted and icy gusts started blowing toward land over the white-capped waves. They reached her hammock, and it started to shake and pitch and…  
Katie's eyes flew open. She was instantly awake. It was no dream. The C-130 was shaking violently, as if in the jaws of a giant animal. She swallowed a scream and her eyes immediately found Chris. His face was flat and expressionless, but Katie could sense the tension he was attempting to hide. She began fumbling with the safety latch of her seat belt, her only thought that she needed to be next to him.

"No!" He shook his head.

She tore the earplugs from her ears.

"Don't get up. It's too dangerous." He shouted against the horribly sick sound of the engines.  
"What's happening?!" she yelled.

Before he could answer, the shaking increased dramatically. Katie couldn't believe the plane was still in one piece; it felt like it had been shaking itself apart. Then everything happened very quickly. Over the noise of the engines came the shriek of a metallic scream. While Katie watched in horror, a deadly blur sliced through the skin of the plane just a few feet to her right and arrowed its way directly across the aisle. Like an invisible missile, the broken propeller blade splintered and struck Chris before tearing through the skin on his side of the plane. Time suspended as the left side of Chris's head exploded in a spray of crimson and he slumped silently forward.

Katie's scream was swallowed by the deafening sound of the plane decompressing, and she grasped onto the webbing, desperately trying to find an anchor in a world gone mad. Everything that wasn't strapped down went flying through the plane in a maelstrom of noise. Katie couldn't get a clear sight of Chris- there was too much debris in the air between them. But she could see the widening trail of blood and fluids that blanketed the area around his seat. _His_ seat? It should have been her seat. Katie felt a sob catch in the back of her throat. Gradually, the debris settled, but the shaking was still violent, and the roar of the air rushing through the gaping holes in the sides of the airplane was deafening. With an amazing effort, the young captain who was sitting to Chris's right unbuckled his seat belt and crawled to his friend's still body. The captain had a square white piece of cloth in his hand and as he wrapped it around Chris's head, Katie realized it must be the pillowcase off his pillow. With precise motions, he unlatched the folded seat next to Chris. He loosened Chris's seat belt enough so that he could swivel his legs around and lay his torso horizontally along the seats. Then he managed to secure another belt across Chris's chest.

Katie couldn't take her eyes from the pillowcase and the grotesque scarlet stain that was soaking methodically through it to pool against the matching red of the seat.

Suddenly, above the din Katie could hear short bursts of a clanging bell. She counted six times. The next thing she knew the colonel had his seat belt unbuckled, and he lurched his way to her side where he quickly pulled down a seat and resecured himself.

"They're ditching the plane," he yelled into her ear.

Her eyes widened. She didn't have to be a pilot to know that meant they were crashing into the ocean.  
"It's okay. We're going to make it." He gave her a smile meant to reassure her. "The water's warm. Good thing we're in the Mediterranean and not the Atlantic."

Katie wanted desperately to believe that.

"What do I do?" she shouted.

Before he answered her he twisted around in his seat and pulled two life vests free of their holding place behind the webbing. Katie noticed the captain across the aisle had done the sme and was struggling to strap one on Chris's unresponsive body.

"Put this on. You'll need to brace yourself and hold on. Everything will be thrown forward when we hit. Be ready to get out of here. Don't know how long this thing will stay afloat."

"Chris?" she asked.

The colonel's face was grim as he shook his head. Katie's eyes filled with tears.

"He's beyond our help; worry about yourself now," he said gruffly. The plane dipped sickeningly forward. The colonel pointed toward the rear of the cargo bay.

"Remember where the tail opens up?" Katie nodded.

"There are two escape doors on either side of the plane. That's where we'll exit. Life rafts are in slots up there."

He pointed to an area above the wings. Katie hoped that he wasn't explaining those things to her because he planned on being dead. Just then the master sergeant burst from the crew door at the front of the plane.

"We're going down!" he yelled as he strapped himself into a seat to the right of Katie and the colonel. "Be ready to get your feet wet!"

Katie couldn't believe it, but he almost sounded gleeful.

The nose of the plane sank again, and the colonel squeezed her shoulder.  
"Ready?" he yelled.

Over the past seven years Katie had researched and prepared herself in the event of an airplane emergency. Any pilot would. She had watched PBS specials on airline safety. She always dressed sensibly when she flew- jeans and sneakers, never heels and bare legs. She counted the seatbacks to her nearest exit, and she paid attention to the flight attendants when they gave their safety spiels.

But she knew she wasn't ready. How do you prepare for the mind-numbing terror? Katie nodded at the colonel and tried to give him a brave smile. Through the ragged tears in the C-130s skin Katie could see bright blue of a clear morning. She closed her eyes and tried to pray, but her mind was a whirlwind of fear. All she could think of was how much she didn't want to die. Then from between her breasts she felt a sudden warmth. Her first thought was that something must have struck her, and she was bleeding. She opened her eyes and frantically felt down the front of her uniform top. No, no rips and definitely no blood. Just a hard lump.

Oh! She realized the lump she was feeling was made by the amber pendant that dangled from around her neck, just below her dog tags. On an impulse she had decided to continue wearing it, even after she had changed into her uniform, but of course wearing jewelry wasn't within military regulations, and she had had to keep it hidden under her top. Now it felt warm against her chest. If ever there was a time for magic, she thought, it was now.

"Brace yourself!" The colonel yelled.

Katie had just enough time to wrap her hands into the netting and brace her feet firmly against the floor when the world exploded. The plane slammed into the ocean with an obscene metallic shriek, as if it knew its life were coming to an end. The white froth of the ocean spray could be seen through the holes in the sides of the plane. But the C-130 didn't stay down. Katie could feel it lift, a temporary respite, before they met the ocean again with an even worse grating jar. They skipped several times over the surface of the water, like a broken, bloated stone. Each time the plane met the ocean, passengers and cargo were flung forward. Katie saw a major get hurled against the front bulkhead when his seat belt snapped loose. She watched as one of the huge cargo pallets pulled free at the same time and came crashing against him, pinning him to the metal wall.

Katie glanced over at Chris and then looked away quickly again. Ragdoll-like, his body was still strapped against the seats. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, his limbs flailed in limp response to the jarring of the plane.

Something sharp hit her left shoulder. She didn't feel any pain, but when she looked down she saw that her flesh gaped open and a line of blood had started to spill down her arm. Then there was the final wrenching, and the plane settled and did not rise again. Katie could see the crystal blue of ocean water through the holes in the plane.

The colonel was the first to react, but Katie could see that all of the pilots except Chris and the major were struggling to their feet.

"Out! Out! Let's go!" he barked, making his way quickly to the area over the wings. Then he started shouting orders.

"Ace, Caveman, Sanchez, get those rear doors open!" Two captains and one lieutenant scrambled around the loose cargo, hurrying to the rear of the plane.

"Sarg!" The colonel yelled at her. "Out-now!"

With shaking hands, Katie unbuckled her own seat belt amazed that she was able to stand. She noticed that already the plane was tilting down at the head.

"The major is dead!" The master sergeant yelled from the front of the bay. He was kneeling by the bloody body of the major, still trapped against the bulkhead.

"Leave him," the colonel said as he lifted a slot and pulled out a neatly folded bright ornge thing that Katie guessed must be a life raft.

"The door to the cockpit is blocked!" The master sergeant had moved from the major's body to the area that should open to the front-most area of the plane. But another cargo pallet was wedged within the opening, effectively blocking the door.

"There's an exit they can use in the cockpit," said the colonel.

He motioned for the master sergeant to get to the back of the plane, then he caught sight of Katie still standing there. "Move, Sergeant!" He turned and headed toward the rear of the plane, expcting Katie to follow him.

Katie meant to go to the rear of the plane and toward safety, but instead she found herself climbing over equipment and cargo until she was standing next to Chris's body. Katie swallowed, trying hard not to be sick. There was blood everywhere. The two seat belts had kept his body from being hurled forward by the impact, and the pillowcase, now totally soaked with blood, was still wrapped securely around his head. His face was turned away from her, and all she could see was the strong line of his chin and neck. His skin was no longer golden brown. It had turned the chalky color of ash. Katie forced herself to place two fingers against the spot where his jugular would be. A faint pulse. His skin was still slightly warm beneath her fingertips.

The plane heaved even further down at the head. Now Katie could see that the ocean was lapping around the gaps in the side of the plane.

"Sergeant!" the colonel's voice bellowed from the rear of the plane.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Here, colonel!" She answered, crawling on top of a mound of cargo so she could be seen. The rear of the plane appeared to be raised up, and Katie could see that the officers had one of the doors open. While she watched, one of the captains attached a tether to the deflated life raft, pulling the cord on it and throwing it out the open door. With a whooshing noise, the raft inflated.

"Get over here, now! This thing is sinking fast."

She looked back at Chris's body. It should have been her. Because of his kindness, he had taken her place and if she didn't do something he was going to die entombed in a lonely, watery grave. The thought was unbearable.

"We have to take Chris with us," she called back to the men.

"No time. The boy's dead. There's nothing to be done for him," said the colonel. At a signal from him, the master sergeant jumped out of the plane.

"I'm not going without him," Katie said, surprised by the calm sound of her voice. Her heart was pounding, and she felt her hands trembling, but knew with a certainty that defied logic that she had made the right decision.

"Get up here, Sergeant. That's an order."

"No, sir. He isn't dead yet and I'm not leaving him here."

Suddenly there was the sound of metal ripping, and Katie felt sun on her face. She looked up to see a clean tear slicing a gap in the ceiling almost directly above her. The nose dipped farther forward, and Katie had to struggle to stay on her feet.

"Goddammit! Dammit all to hell!" Katie could hear the colonel approaching before she saw him. He was cussing like crazy and yelling orders. "Unbelt the boy and get ready to get the fuck out of here!" Katie rushed to get Chris's seat belts undone and had just finished when the colonel climbed around the last of the debris. Without looking at her, he grabbed Chris's body and hauled it across one shoulder in the traditional fireman's carry.

"Keep up with me!" he yelled at her.

Katie was only too happy to comply with that particular order. They were almost to the door when the entire front section of the plane tore free and sank with amazing speed. The tail area had been high above the water, but now that the rear of the plane was freed of the dragging weight of the flooded front, it flopped heavily down to the sea level. To Katie it felt like she was standing in an elevator that had just dropped several stories. She and the colonel fell hard to the floor. Water started to rush in through the open door. The colonel regained his feet quickly. He grabbed Katie by the scruff of her uniform and Chris by his leg and pulled them to the door.

Katie had no time to think. The colonel tossed her roughly out the door. She hit the water and went under, but almost immediately her life vest brought her bobbing to the surface like a human cork. She sputtered and blinked, momentarily blinded by saltwater and sunlight. She heard two quick splashes next to her, and in another instant the colonel's head broke the surface not far from her, along with Chris's motionless body.

"There." He pointed and Katie could see the florescent orange of the life raft about forty feet in front of them. "Swim! We have to get away from the plane." He set off, sidestroking and kicking hard as he dragged Chris's body along with him.

Wishing desperately that she was a better swimmer, Katie kicked and began stroking awkwardly after him. A horrendous explosion burst behind her, and she spun around in the water in time to see a flash of light and flame. The plane was an enormous, gaping monster that seemed to be thrashing and fighting against its death. And she was too close to it.

Adrenaline rushed through her body, and Katie began swimming with everything within her. She didn't look behind her again, she just swam.

Then she felt it. A piece of wreckage wrapped around her ankle like a mechanical tentacle. Terrified, she kicked and kicked, but it wouldn't come free. She tried to reach down to get it off, but she was pulled under the surface with such force that she thought her leg would wrench from it's socket. Water surrounded her and the pressure on her leg was unrelenting. She tried to fight against it, but it was impossible. Her ankle had been securely captured, and she was being pulled steadily down to the ocean floor by the weight of the sinking plane. She was going to die.

Panic rippled through her and she reached for the surface, struggling to kick against the enormous weight dragging her to her death. She didn't want to die- not like this- not so young. In that moment, Katie didn't see glimpses of her life passing before her eyes, she just felt the despair of knowing that she was dying too soon, before she had ever really lived. She would never know the love of a husband; she would never watch her children grow and marry. Her chest was burning, and she knew it was only seconds before she would be forced to breathe in the deadly water.

Katie closed her eyes. _Please help me_, she prayed fervently. _Someone,_ _please help me._  
Miraculously, the weight that had been dragging her under evaporated, and she was filled with an indescribable peace.

_Open your eyes, daughter._ The words were spoken clearly into Katie's mind. It was a voice that echoed both male and female at once. She opened her eyes to find herself floating in almost pure darkness. And she wasn't alone in that darkness. Suspended in the water directly in front of her, close enough that Katie had only to lift a hand to touch her, was an oddly familiar beautiful woman. Her long black hair floated around her face like a veil.

_Hello, Daughter. _The voice rang in her mind.

Katie felt a shock of recognition.

_You're the lady who saved me from the elevator!_ She thought.

Suddenly she realized her lungs didn't burn anymore. But it wasn't that she was breathing, because she was definitely underwater; it was more like she had been infused with oxygen.

A familiar smile curved the woman's lips. _Yes, we heard your unique call under the full moon. It pleased us, and we like to care for those who remember._ She pointed at the Amber pendant floating just above Katie's chest.

_We are pleased that you value our gift._

Katie swallowed hard past the lump that had lodged in her throat, and her fingers wound themselves around the warm stones. She was speaking with a real deity. Or she was dead. Either way, it was nerve-wracking.

_Yes, thank you. It's beautiful._ She cleared her throat. A force of habit. _Am I dead?_

The woman's sad smile seemed to make the glowing light around them dance.  
_In this world you are, my child. But we offer something more._

_I don't understand_, Katie thought, feeling more lost than ever.

The woman reached out and touched Katie's cheek with motherly affection. _This must be very difficult for you, poor child. We will try to explain. Your Samhain ritual was heartfelt, and we still heed the call of our children, even in a world where we have been forgotten. We were pleased with you that night, and we touched you._

Katie blushed, remembering the passionate feel of moonlight on her skin. The woman put a finger under Katie's chin and lifted her face. _Do not ever be ashamed of a gift from us._

Before Katie could respond, she continued. _We looked into your future, and we saw your life end too soon in this watery grave._ The voice in her mind ended with a sad sigh. _There was little we could do to prevent it from happening. So we have come to offer you a new life in another place._

_How?_ Katie felt overwhelmed. Her parents? Her friends? She was going to leave them behind? As if sensing her hesitation, the woman's voice spoke firmly in her mind.

_Your life in this world has ended. Your loss will be hardest on those closest to you, but they will learn to continue living. The man you saved will be a frequent visitor to your grave._ The woman's face was shadowed by sadness, and Katie felt her own eyes sting with tears before the goddess continued. _The world we offer is much more difficult than your own. It will require bravery, tenacity and a strong will- traits we sense in you- to survive. Do you desire to continue to live, no matter the cost?_

_Well of course I do, _Katie thought automatically and nodded her head vigorously. The woman's sadness was gone, replaced by a dazzling look of relief and joy. The soft light that they had been floating within refracted into a fireworks display of rebellious blue. The woman Katie had been speaking with was bathed in an eerie aqua-white glow, disappearing in an intense explosion of light that propelled water violently in every direction. Caught in a tremendous wave of backlash, Katie felt herself hurl end over end away from the site of the plane crash. Everything became confused and dreamlike. Katie had no control over where she was being pulled. It felt like she had been caught in an underwater tornado. The whirlpool was pulling her farther and farther down into the depths of the ocean, and even thought she had no urge to breathe, she was still terrified of the black nothingness beneath her. So she struggled, swimming around and through different levels of turbulent currents.

Finally, she broke through the wall of swirling current. Ahead, farther down on the dark water's surface, there was a faint glistening light. _That way_, she thought blearily and kicked hard to propel herself forward. Even as tired as she was, Katie noted with surprise that she had never swam so strongly before.

And then the spot of light was just ahead of her and she burst up, breaking the surface and wearily shocked to find herself partially submerged within what appeared to be a large puddle. Her vision was blurry with fatigue, but she could just make out the ledges of saturated Earth surrounding her. She forced her leadened limbs to move, and with an effort that left her quivering and gasping, she hauled her body out of the water. Curling into a fetal position, Katie finally gave into unconsciousness and slept.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or any of the characters that belong to the original author of the series. The only character that is mine to claim is Katelyn and any characters not formally mentioned in the SNK anime or manga.

Author's note: I have been a bit busy with work and trying to write this in a timely manner for everyone. I'm sure your appetites are whet with anticipation now that Katelyn has arrived in the SNK universe. I apologize for this chapter being somewhat short. It is five notebook pages long and I thought that would be enough at least as a setup for now. Things will certainly pick up and gain some steam as we progress. Nile Dawk is in this chapter. He didn't show up a lot in the anime or manga from what I've seen so I got a very vague idea as to his character. If anything seems off in terms of proper character portrayal, I would appreciate that feedback. To those who have been reading this story front to back, thank you. To those of you skipping chapters to get to this point- screw you. This is art and meant to be enjoyed thoroughly from beginning to end. With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Unless you skipped over here from the first chapter. If that is the case, I hope you step on a lego.

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The clean scent of fresh morning air teased her awake. Without opening her eyes, she breathed deeply. Katie released a long sigh and opened her eyes. She found herself in a room that was small and barren. The walls were made of thick gray stone. The room held only a small, hard bed that was covered with a scratchy brown blanket and a narrow dresser on which was placed a large, plain bowl made of brown pottery. Another breath of fresh air blew into the small room and ruffled her hair. Katie breathed deeply, savoring a scent that was at once magical and familiar. Her face turned to the wall farthest from the door. High up on that wall was a narrow window, probably no more than three feet tall. She rose unsteadily, as if her legs weren't exactly sure how they should work, and tottered to stand under the high, open window. Even with Katie's height stretched as tall as she could manage, she could barely see out. The view was breathtaking. Buildings of brick and stone stood tall against the backdrop of a towering wall, pearl pink mingling with clear blue against an early morning sky. The breeze tugged at the fabric of her clothing and grimaced as the unfamiliar rough wool scraped against her bare skin. Glancing down she found herself no longer dressed in her desert fatigues, but in a dress made of non-descript brown wool. As Katie stared out into the distant morning, listening to the chatter below of an awakening town, she tried to sift through her scattered thoughts. What had happened to her? Was she dead? What should she do next?

Suddenly, her mind recounted the recent plane crash, her "death" and the conversation with the deity who had blessed her with a second chance.

"Holy fucking shit; I'm really in another world!"

Unaccustomed to using such harsh language, Katie's first impulse was to cover her mouth and look around frantically to make sure her mother hadn't heard her, but the jerky movement caused her to lose balance and stumble against the wall. At the thought of her mother, involuntary tears sprang to her eyes as semihysterical giggles broke from her mouth. _Your life in this world has ended,_ the deity had said. She would never see her family or friends again.

Swallowing back her hysteria, she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Breathe deeply, breathe deeply she told herself- it wouldn't help for her to lose it now. Another deep breath, then she reopened her eyes and grasped the window ledge for balance.

The door opened and Katie jumped guiltily. Two men of copper and dark brown hair wearing short, light brown leather jackets donning green, white-maned unicorn symbols on both shoulders and the left breast pocket thundered into the room. Katie thought they had to be some of the most intimidating men she had ever seen. In one swift movement one of the men had grabbed her hands whilst maneuvering behind her and restraining them with handcuffs. Katie opened her mouth to protest, but the gruff-looking brunette in front of her interrupted.

"What is your name?" he asked with surprising calm.

"Katelyn Pierce, United States Air Force," she said woodenly, forcing her face to remain expressionless.  
The man's jaw tightened, but he nodded his head.

"Miss Pierce, you are hereby detained for questioning until further notice." To the man behind her, he nodded. Katie felt a push from behind, urging her forward as the other man took her elbow and guided her out the door.

Her captors navigated the stairwell, with her in tow, to a new room a few floors down. Golden sunlight rained in through a lite casement window. Much like the room before, this one was barren except for a long wooden table in the center of the wooden floor.

"Sit." Commanded her red-headed captor, pushing down upon her shoulder and forcing her into a chair pulled out by his companion. The two men had removed her handcuffs and hurried from the room, closing the door securely behind them to leave her alone with the silence of the room. Katie sighed. She had seen enough crime shows to know an interrogation room when she saw one. But why would they need to interrogate her? And for what? Katie contemplated the question as she ran a finger over the table's wood grain, staring at the world beyond the window.

She had been in the interrogation room for what felt like hours, alone, under guard, with absolutely nothing to do except worry. She had been pacing while she waited for someone to come when two swift knocks on the door made her jump. Before she could respond, the door opened and in stepped a lanky, hatchet-faced man with dark hair and eyes, followed closely by two men with the same green unicorn badge on their uniforms.

"Have a seat," the man said in an extremely neutral tone, his boots clicking smartly upon the wood floor as he crossed the room to take his seat.

As Katie reclaimed her own seat, she noticed the man watching her with wary, calculating eyes.  
"My name is Chief Nile Dawk," the man said evenly, "would you please state your name."  
"Staff Sergeant Katelyn Pierce of the United States Airforce."

Katie's response was automatic as she looked past Chief Nile Dawk to the two men in uniform who had taken post with their backs to the wall. The two stood erect, staring seemingly into space and shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other when they felt her eyes on them. They would remind Katelyn of London Palace guards if they could manage to keep their expressions under control.

Nile cleared his throat, shifting Katie's attention back to him. She could see the slip of her name had already made him skeptical.

"Would you explain how members of the Garrison found you outside wall Rose this morning?" The man's voice was a whip. Katie furrowed her brow in confusion. She had never been a very good liar, and her seven years in the air force had only reinforced her dislike for lies. Dishonesty led to problems- usually career-ending problems. She had decided early on that it was better to tell the truth and deal with the consequences than to be a dishonorable person. Unfortunately, she thought, that lesson was not much help in her current situation. She glanced at Nile Dawk. She had a feeling that telling him the absolute truth would probably get her locked up or killed. The best choice was to stick as close to the truth as she could.

"I'm sorry I don't understand. Is being outside the wall wrong?" Katie met his cold gaze evenly, making sure her voice carried.

The men were stunned into silence, their shocked expressions made Katie's blood run cold. Had she already made a misstep? Nile's jaw tightened, "Are you saying you have no idea why it is dangerous outside the walls?"

Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Nile's hard gaze silenced her. Something in his eyes told her to tread carefully with her next words and that perhaps silence would not be such a bad idea. But Katie had spent the past seven years in a male-dominated United States Air Force. Even before the deity had touched her she knew how to stand up for herself. If this was going to be her world, she might as well get the rules straight away. And she sure wasn't going to play by Nile's rules and let herself be intimidated. She raised her chin and looked straight in his fox-like gray eyes. "I don't know what is beyond the wall. I only remember finding my way to it and waking up in that room."

"Ah," the Chief breathed, "I see."

He glanced over his shoulder and nodded quickly to the men standing at attention. At his signal, the men hurried forward to help her from the chair. She forced her face to remain expressionless as she continued woodenly across the room to the door of the hallway that would eventually lead to her room, guided by Nile's men. She wanted to rush from this building and go elsewhere. Anywhere! But she refused to give Nile the satisfaction of seeing her panic. At the door to the hall Nile spoke belligerently to her. "Your case will need to be determined by Darius Zackley, it is out of my hands now. He will expect to see you when he arrives. You will be sent for then." He paused before adding, "For your own safety my men will see that you remain in your room until you are summoned."

Katie met his eyes with her own hard gaze. "For my protection, is it? It sounds to me like you're appointing jailers."

Without waiting for a reply, she stepped out into the hallway, giving the door a resounding slam behind her.


End file.
